Some people joke that they could write a book about their home renovation experience. Curtis Heuser literally did just that.

But then again, his was not the typical renovation. And Heuser, a decorative artist of 30 years, is not the typical renovator. Not only did he gut the 1895 Victorian home in Newport's East Row Historic District down to the studs, but he also spent an entire year painting it. You can see his handiwork in everything from murals to a faux-rusted vanity to crackle-finished bookcases.

"Literally the whole house is tastefully faux finished," Heuser said.

But it took him a long time to even get to that point. When he bought the house 15 years ago, it was, in his words, a disaster: Smelly, nicotine-stained and packed with furniture, clothing, even food, all of which came with the house. So did the pigeons that had taken over the attic.

"The Realtor wouldn't even come in with me, it was so bad," he said.

Cleanup needs aside, the decor also left much to be desired. Most rooms had drop ceilings with fluorescent lights, and decades-old shag carpeting and wood paneling abounded.

And yet he'd walked by the home so many times, noticing details like the curved wall in the dining room. He loved the natural light. And he felt like the house just needed to be restored.

He bought it.

"Everybody thought I was nuts," he said. "Looking back, maybe I was."

But after that is when his schedule got crazy. He worked full time – remember that his work is painting – while also painting his own home in meticulous detail. He had deadlines, dates when rooms had to be photo-ready for inclusion in the book. "Your Home: A Living Canvas," was set to be published by North Light Books, an imprint of locally based F+W, in 2008. (He'd met the art director during an estate sale he held at the home.)

You can see his work and his attention to detail pretty much everywhere in the home he shares with his partner, Steve Cox. It starts in the foyer, where Heuser added accents and the paint finish to the original staircase and painted a faux patina on the wainscotting-inspired wallpaper.

The transom over the front door, the only piece of stained glass in the home that is original, inspired the color scheme and some of the accents for the surrounding rooms. On the faux-finished walls of the adjacent parlor, he used a custom stencil to mimic the transom's acanthus leaf pattern. To create a focal point, he added a faux-limestone mantle that he painted trompe l'oeil, giving it a three-dimensional effect that mimics carved stone. A friend created a mosaic pattern around the hearth to incorporate the transom's ribbon design.

Also eye-catching is the dimensional starburst medallion on the ceiling of the adjacent dining room, which he created to have a fresco effect. To the fireplace in that room, which he uncovered, he added a tin cherub piece with a terra cotta finish.

The kitchen, with its faux beams, light fixtures from an old church and trompe l'oeil broken plaster and exposed brick, was inspired by a Tuscan villa. Look closely and you'll see little nature-inspired details painted on the walls: A praying mantis in a corner, a mouse down low, a bird perched on a vine.

Murals are a big part of Heuser's business. He's created hundreds of them, mostly in private homes, many of them English garden-themed. The one in his second-floor guest room is the first he's done in the style of chinoiserie wallpaper, freehanding a tree, birds and other animals.

"For guests, I wanted it to be kind of a well-traveled fantasy room, where people look around and try to figure out where things come from and the story behind them," he said.

He added to that feel with antiques and found objects, including his first-ever antique purchase: The early 1800s bed that he put on layaway and paid for over six months.

A self-described lover of "found stuff," Heuser likes to buy things other people pass by and repurpose them or just display them as they are. That means there are things to see everywhere, particularly on the second floor: A steering wheel next to a hornets' nest on a shelf, old picture frames and an old bike wheel propped up against a wall, old measures on a table, old lithographs with proverbs or verses hanging in the hall.

"I love whimsy," he said.

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The custom floor in an upstairs living room at the home of Curtis Heuser in Newport, Ky., on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.(Photo: Sam Greene, The Enquirer)

He's lucked into some finds, too: What are the chances that he'd come across sconces in a shop in Venice, Italy, that match a chandelier he bought from a shop in O'Bryonville years earlier? Well, it happened.

Upstairs, in the third-floor master that was originally a traditional attic, you can see perhaps the most double-take-inducing illusion. After he tore out the low ceiling to expose the rafters, which he built beams around, he painted drapery, complete with cords and shadows, on the slanted ceiling. ("Trompe l'oeil at its best," he said.)

So after all the hours of work, Heuser has a home that's been on five home tours and has hosted benefits.

"It was definitely a labor of love," he said of the project. "It's been my little baby."

Besides, after all his years in the field, he still believes in art. In fact, he recently started teaching classes in painting, drawing and faux techniques out of his Bellevue gallery, Interior Visions by Curtis L. Heuser. (He previously had a home and garden shop there, but it is now closed.)

"I think people need art in their lives," he said. "People need an outlet."

Know of an interesting local home we should feature? Email ssteigerwald@enquirer.com.

Like the neighborhood? Take a walk through its gardens

If you'd like to explore Heuser's neighborhood, consider attending the 2017 Newport Garden Walk. Set for June 3 and 4, the walk will let visitors tour nine private gardens in the East Row Historic District. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. It's the 21st year for the event, sponsored by the East Row Garden Club.

In addition to the garden tours, the event will include live music and vendors, and homeowners will share lists of their favorite plants.

Tickets are $15 per person; children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. A portion of the proceeds will go to the TreeRevitalize Program, which has lead to the planting of more than 350 new trees in Newport in the last two years.

Advance tickets are available online at www.eastrowgardenclub.org. They will also be for sale (cash or check only) at the exhibitor area at the Watertower Square parking lot, located at Sixth and Washington Streets, until 3 p.m. each day of the tour.